HYDERABAD: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Pakistan’s emir Hafiz Naeem has hinted at staging a long march if the agreement on power tariff reached with the federal government in the wake of his party’s sit-in remains unimplemented even after the 45-day deadline.

He added that the Aug 28 countrywide strike against expensive power and price hike would be successful.

Addressing the JI office-bearers in a banquet in Latifabad here on Wednesday, he said the Jamaat had become a ray of hope for the downtrodden and added that 32 days were left for the implementation of the pact reached with the government by the JI and after 45 days, the call for long march would be given to force the government to implement the points.

He said that it was out of JI’s fear that the Punjab government pitched Rs45bn for two months of power subsidy for the consumers in the province, which was just a farce. The JI stood for cheap electricity for the whole of Pakistan round the year. He said the government and opposition benches were least bothered about the masses’ issues and only the JI was in the phase of struggle.

The JI chief lambasted the Sindh government for bad governance, saying that nobody needed to be informed that the worst government existed in Sindh. He said the PPP comprised of one family and 40 landlords, and a party working on the basis of ‘will’ was no longer considered a political party.

The Peoples Party, he said, was occupying Karachi to have its mayor and that had become a ‘qabza group’ party. Naeem said people needed to be ridden of those thrust on them in ‘Islamabad’. He said the availability of arms and ammunition to the riverine area dacoits in Sindh was a question mark for the provincial government.

He called for action against those facilitating supply of weapons to dacoits. The JI would change the political leadership in Sindh to rid people of landlords and mafias.

He said Bilawal visited temples, but he was least concerned about Hindus’ kidnapping. Alluding to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, he said.

He said crime rate was increasing in cities and peoples’ issues had become irrelevant to the rulers enjoying the absolute power. He said many people remained missing in Balochistan and those who were supposed to abide by the constitution were making people ‘go missing’.

He said the sense of lawlessness in Balochistan was giving rise to insecure feelings and external forces were exploiting them. Now the gas tariff was being raised after electricity. The JI struggled against power tariff, he said, adding that people must have freedom to protest for their rights in the democracy. The JI had become a ray of hope for the masses, he claimed.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2024